Routh, representing himself, begins picking Florida jury Monday

By Alan Wooten
The Center Square

Ryan Routh will have court-appointed lawyers nearby as he represents himself in a Florida court against charges related to assassinating Donald Trump.

Jury selection starts Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Routh, 59, is a construction worker from North Carolina more recently working in Hawaii. He pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.

Prosecutors say on Sept. 15, 2024, Routh was plotting to kill Trump, then a candidate for a second term in the White House. The suspect never fired a shot, instead dropping his weapon after Secret Service agents spotted him and fired a shot.

Prosecutor say Routh raised his rifle at an agent.

Most of next week will be consumed with jury selection. Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday laid out logistics, including that Routh will be in professional business attire, and that U.S. marshals have instructions should he make sudden movements to “take decisive and quick action to respond.”

Routh can use a podium to speak or question; he can’t freely roam as litigators often do.

Four weeks are blocked for the trial, with opening statements expected Sept. 11.

In the 24 hours after the incident, The Center Square confirmed Routh was registered to vote in North Carolina and Hawaii at the time of the incident. He voted earlier in the year in North Carolina’s Super Tuesday primaries. Rex Quidilla, elections administrator with the Office of the City Clerk for the city and county of Honolulu, told The Center Square in a telephone interview, “He is an active registered voter. He resides in District Precinct 48-01.”

By the slimmest of measurements, Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., on July 13 last year while at an outdoor campaign rally. He participated in the Republican National Convention the ensuing week, hit the campaign trail in Grand Rapids, Mich., a week to the day later, and used a bulletproof shield in front of him at limited outdoor campaign events.

He was playing a Sunday round of golf at a club he owns in West Palm Beach, Fla., when the incident with Routh happened.

Routh was a student at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro in the 1990s.